The Overlooked Breed: Why Beagles Make Awesome Pets

Did you know that an average beagle’s sense of smell is 44 times stronger than ours? Humans have about 5 million scent receptors while beagles have at least 220 million scent receptors! In comparison, the average dog’s snout has about 149 million receptors.

Because of that, beagles are often used as hunting dogs. Unfortunately, not all beagles are good at detecting wild game, and they’re deemed useless by their owners.

What happens to them?

Often times, their owners drive them out to rural areas and abandon them on the side of the road. It’s quite a common occurrence in rural Illinois that there is actually a rescue group with the sole purpose of saving beagles that were pushed out of cars, usually during or after hunting season.

It’s so sad how people would push their beagle, or any kind of dog for the matter, out of their car and race off without even looking at the poor thing’s confused, hurt, or betrayed face. How could these people do something so horrendous? How could they be so cold and heartless? Don’t they realize that they’re leaving such a sweet, loving, and loyal companion to die on the side of the road unless a good Samaritan swoops in and saves it?

Most of all, why didn’t they ever take the time to see all the wonderful qualities their beagles possessed? Beagles are so much more than scent hounds. They’re sweet, gentle, and loyal companions. Not only that, but…

Beagles will get along with anyone.

Most beagles are even-tempered, meaning they will tolerate just about anyone. They’re also very friendly, brave, and sociable. You can put a beagle in a home with cats or other dogs, and the friendly beagle will be likely to get along with the other pet(s) just fine.

Beagles are affectionate, but not clingy.

Whenever you want to cuddle with a dog, the beagle will be first in line! Most beagles are actually lap dogs, and they have no problem snuggling up to any human who wants a hug. While beagles are affectionate, they don’t feel the need to get your attention every second of the day. Their hunting instinct allows them the need to explore, and because of that, they’re pretty independent dogs.

Beagles are excellent with children.

There are two reasons for that. First of all, beagles are playful, high-energy dogs. They could play with children all day long. Secondly, one of the best things about beagles are their temperaments. They’re extremely patient; they can sit through a lot of ear-pulling and tail-tugging and they will only yelp when it gets too far.

Beagles are intelligent.

This breed gets a lot of rap for being dumb, but that’s actually not true. Beagles can be a challenge to train, but it’s only because of their independent and willful nature, not because of their intelligence. If you’ve ever met a beagle, you’ve probably already figured that beagles are actually quite above average when it comes to intelligence. Some like to say that beagles are too clever for their own good.

Beagles are easy to groom.

Because beagles have shorter hair, their coats are super easy to groom. They also don’t shed that much!

Beagles are not prone to hereditary diseases or other health problems.

The average longevity of beagles is between 10 and 13 years, which is common for dogs their size. However, they usually stay healthy throughout their entire lives. While any dog can fall ill or come into health problems, a beagle has a lower chance of that happening than other breeds. That means less vet bills for you!

There are so many more reasons why beagles make excellent pets. Next time you see a beagle, make sure to give it a hug simply for being amazing!

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Comments

Wow! This was a fantastic post. Illinois is not alone for beagles getting the boot — it happens in the South, and in Long Island, NY too! And I don’t understand it. Beagles are so wonderful. I love my Lulu, and everytime I hear of one of these cases, or read about the Beagle Freedom Project, I just want to jug her tighter.